Key developments
NSF moves to dismantle deep-ocean observatories
The National Science Foundation plans to start retrieving more than 900 seafloor instruments in the Ocean Observatories Initiative later this month, in a ship-based operation expected to take about 15 months. The network cost $368 million when it was installed in 2016 and was designed to run for at least 25 years, but officials say winding it down would save about $48 million a year. Senate Democrats including Chris Van Hollen and Edward Markey say they will fight the move, arguing it would cut off climate, coastal-currents and fisheries data far ahead of schedule.
Why it matters
It would end a major ocean climate-monitoring system decades early and risk irreversible data loss.
Sources & driving stories
THE NEW YORK TIMES · Lisa Friedman
The New York Times coverageTHE WORLD
The World coverageGlobal carbon removal must quadruple by 2050
The third State of Carbon Dioxide Removal report says the world now removes about 2.2 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, with 99.9% coming from conventional land-based methods. To stay on a 1.5C pathway through 2100, removals would need to rise to about 8.75 billion tonnes a year by 2050, while novel methods increased only from 1.4 million tonnes in 2023 to 2 million in 2025. The report says policy, funding and demand are still far behind the scale needed.
Why it matters
It quantifies how far carbon-removal infrastructure still is from supporting Paris-aligned pathways.
Sources & driving stories
CARBON BRIEF
Carbon Brief coverageHEATMAP · Emily Pontecorvo
Heatmap coverageNew York sues over offshore wind settlement
New York Attorney General Letitia James and other Northeast attorneys general filed suit in federal court challenging the Trump administration's settlement with TotalEnergies that canceled two offshore wind leases in the New York area. The agreement refunded about $928 million and shifted an equivalent amount into U.S. oil and gas projects. The states say the Interior Department violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Judgment Fund Act by bypassing required review and procedures.
Why it matters
The case could set the legal limits on using settlements to unwind offshore wind projects.
Sources & driving stories
HEATMAP · Emily Pontecorvo
Heatmap coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Hajj heat window keeps shrinking
A new analysis says Mecca's May temperatures are now nearing historical summer averages, leaving fewer safer months for millions of pilgrims.
WORTH NOTING
India dairy farms lose milk to heat
Reporting from northern India says extreme heat is cutting milk output and fertility while forcing small farmers to spend more on cooling, feed and ventilation.
WORTH NOTING
Ethiopia's EV uptake accelerates after ban
The country says more than 100,000 electric vehicles are now registered and it is targeting 500,000 by 2030 after its gasoline-and-diesel import ban.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will ocean observatory removal be blocked?
The instrument retrieval is supposed to begin later this month, so the remaining window for congressional, legal or administrative intervention is short.
OPEN QUESTION
Can removals policy create real demand?
The new carbon-removal report shows a multibillion-ton gap and weak market signals, leaving open who will buy and regulate large-scale removals.